I love a good anthem

There is nothing like the power of a long form TV spot. Something that captures the imagination of the audience and keeps it. An epic or anthem as they are called in the business. Traditionally these are spots that air on the Super Bowl, Grammy’s or Academy Awards. As it is coming into that season, its great to see that marketers are still investing in big productions.

Coca-Cola has new CMO Marcos de Quinto and he has dropped the long running “Open Happiness Campaign” in favor of a new campaign, “Taste the Feeling.” Check out this new spot simply titled Anthem.

I think the campaign is fantastic not only for the magnitude of the spot but also for its simplicity. According to de Quinto, drinking a Coke has always been a “simple pleasure and makes everyday moments more special.” And while the creative feels worldly, the sophistication of the strategy is brilliant. Apparently moving forward Coke will adopt a “one-brand” approach that will unite multiple varieties like Diet Coke and Coke Zero in a single campaign, rather than running disparate spots. The idea is to sell more units and in age where sugar intake is being scrutinized, Coke is taking the approach of selling liquid in smaller packages to more people.

Interestingly I think the spot is eerily familiar to classic spot Don Draper reprised in Madmen, “I’d like to buy the world a coke.”